Rehtaeh’s mom to appear on Dr. Phil

Rehtaeh Parsons’ mother will be appearing on the Dr. Phil talk show, but the U.S. program is already catching heat across the continent for the way it’s discussing issues around the Cole Harbour girl’s case.

Host “Dr. Phil” McGraw is “very upset” about a message posted on his Twitter account, his spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The tweet was posted Tuesday, a day before Leah Parsons, Rehtaeh’s mother, began taping live in Hollywood for the show.

“If a girl is drunk, is it OK to have sex with her? Reply yes or no to @drphil,” was the message posted on the host’s Twitter account.

It was followed by the term “#teensaccused,” using a format many use on Twitter to highlight big themes.

The backlash on Twitter was swift and the tweet was deleted.

Many critics said the tweet lacked context and was an inappropriate subject for a poll — for starters. Many went on to attack the Dr. Phil show more generally.

“If you rape someone, is it OK to blame them for the fact that you raped them? Reply yes or no to @DrPhil,” wrote Twitter user @aurabogado.

The host’s spokeswoman said in an emailed statement that it was a “research post,” not a “personal post.”

Dr. Phil has long maintained that “those incapacitated in any fashion, be it drugs, alcohol, age or mental illness, cannot and do not have the capacity to give their consent to anything, especially sex, which could have life-changing repercussions,” Stacey Luchs wrote.

“Dr. Phil deleted it the second he saw it,” she said. “It was clearly ill-advised. We sincerely apologize that it suggested anything other than what was intended, data gathering.”

The emailed statement also suggests the upcoming show will focus on those accused of rape.

The show will be on a “very serious” topic “based upon a recent news story, hence the #teensaccused label,” Luchs wrote.

It’s not known yet when the show will air. Luchs said she might know the date next month.

One person who was busy throughout the Dr. Phil controversy was Leah Parsons, who flew to Los Angeles on Monday.

The show “called Leah on Sunday, and on Monday she just went,” said Glen Canning, Rehtaeh’s father. “It was really, really fast.”

She agreed to participate in the show, and Canning said he supported her decision, to get more people talking about the questions they’ve faced over the past two years, since Rehtaeh was allegedly sexually assaulted at 15 at a classmate’s home when she was drunk.

Rehtaeh died in April at 17 after a suicide attempt.

“I think it’s basically, we were just trying to draw attention to this issue, where consent is a problem,” Canning said. “It’s obviously a thing that should be addressed, as to what is sexual consent and what isn’t.”

As for the tweet, Canning said he didn’t mind it the same way many others did. It wasn’t the question itself that most bothered him, he said.

“I had a problem with the answer,” he said. “According to Halifax police, the answer to Dr. Phil’s question is yes, and I think that’s pretty sad.”